MI-Certified Elementary SPED Teacher

Elementary Special Education Teacher

Compensation: Pays up to $60/hr

Location: Harper Woods, MI

Position Overview:

The Special Education Teacher provides essential support to students with special needs by preparing educational materials, adapting instructional plans to meet individual student requirements, teaching concepts in an accessible manner, and helping students enhance their life skills.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Education or a related field.
• Valid Michigan Teacher Certification, demonstrating high qualifications in the relevant subject area.
• Endorsement for K-12 in Learning Disabilities (LD), Emotional Impairment (EI), Cognitive Impairment (CI), or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
• Recommendations from colleagues or instructors familiar with your ability to instruct students with disabilities.
• Preferred experience in teaching elementary-aged students with disabilities and working within a school’s special education framework.

Additional Qualifications:

• Proficient in documenting services provided to students.
• Ability to manage caseloads effectively and meet deadlines for required paperwork.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Exhibit excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Interpret standardized test results effectively.
• Create meaningful Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and objectives.
• Analyze academic and behavioral data to adjust instruction based on observed trends.
• Develop specially designed lessons and activities tailored for students with disabilities.
• Interact effectively with students who have diverse behavioral, emotional, socio-economic, and academic needs.

Key Competencies of a Turnaround Teacher:

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to achieving significant student achievement results in a short timeframe.
• Build meaningful relationships with students to foster academic engagement.
• Utilize the student support network to address social, emotional, nutritional, and health needs.
• Motivate students and positively influence their behavior.
• Engage in instructional conversations focused on improving student learning outcomes.
• Collaborate with classroom teachers to create clear instructional plans that yield strong results.
• Coordinate instruction across grade levels to support at-risk students effectively.
• Discuss subject-specific content instruction and explore new strategies to enhance student learning.
• Align curriculum, instruction, and assessments while addressing individual student needs.
• Collect and analyze data to inform instructional decisions and modify teaching strategies as necessary.
• Design formative assessments that facilitate daily adjustments in collaboration with other educators.
• Establish organized routines, communicate clear expectations, and promote a positive school culture.
• Foster a professional environment characterized by mutual respect, teamwork, and accountability.
• Seek guidance from knowledgeable peers or administrators to continuously improve instructional quality for high-risk students.

Leadership Attributes:

• Prioritize student learning needs over established routines that may hinder necessary changes.
• Take initiative to achieve results while reflecting on and acting upon lessons learned.
• Maintain persistence and focus on increasing student growth for at-risk populations through effective planning and monitoring.
• Commit to the ongoing pursuit of enhanced learning outcomes for at-risk students by challenging the status quo through analytical thinking and problem-solving.

This job description outlines the essential functions of the Special Education Teacher role but is not exhaustive. Responsibilities may evolve based on the needs of the school or district.